


in the space where you should have been

by mistyviolin



Category: Splatoon
Genre: Gen, implied octavio/cuttlefish??, mentions of Octavio and Three
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-06
Updated: 2018-10-06
Packaged: 2019-07-27 04:59:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16211915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mistyviolin/pseuds/mistyviolin
Summary: The time spent between tests in the Metro is sometimes long. Eight gets restless and asks Cuttlefish about the surface to keep himself sane.





	in the space where you should have been

**Author's Note:**

> One of these days one of my works is going to turn into a slow burn between Three and Eight. 
> 
> In which Cap’n Cuttlefish isn’t so kooky lmfao.

“Cap’n Cuttlefish, sir?”

“What’s the matter, Agent Eight?”

“What is the surface like?”

Eight feels the Cap’n’s gaze on him and there’s a pause before there’s any answer. Eight has taken to reading all the Inkopolis fashion magazines stowed away on the subway in between tests and thangs, but between the uncomfortable seats and the fact he’s read all of them at least three times over he’s started to grow weary of them. He doesn’t want to read about it, he wants to experience it. It’s not fair that squids get to have fun while he’s stuck down here just trying not to get splatted into next week. 

“Beautiful,” the Cap’n says at last, and Eight can tell that he is far away. He waits for an elaboration but the Cap’n is uncharacteristically somber. It makes Eight uncomfortable. Mr. Cuttlefish shouldn’t have to be down here with him, old man that he is. He deserves to be home with his grandsquids and eating as many crabby cakes as the days are long, rambling about catfish and Bamboozlers and whatever else all he wants. 

Maybe Cap will be happy if Eight asks him about his friends?

“Do you have any friends on the surface, Mr. Cuttlefish?”

That seems to at least shake him out of his contemplative trance as the Cap’n sputters like an old Flooder. “Why, you- the nerve! Kids these days..” and for a moment Eight fully expects a clout on the head for his insolence.

But the Cap’n only huffs and leans back into his seat, his cane scuffing against the floor.   
“None my age mind you, I’ll admit. But even an old squid like me has friends! Sheldon- I was good friends with his grandpappy during the war, you know, and he has the same knack for weapons that ol’ Ammosses did. You two would get along,” and the Cap’n takes note of how Eight tilts his head in a silent question. “I may be old but not blind, squiddo. You take apart every weapon in your head when you look at it.”

Eight flushes hot. It’s true that some old habits die hard, and he’s done the same test twice but with different weapons just to see how it feels, and how he can utilize the differences in style and type to complete a certain goal in different ways. The Girl Power station in particular has captivated him in this way- he doesn’t think he’ll ever rest until he’s completed that test with every combination of main weapon, sub and specials provided. He wonders if this Sheldon is the same way. 

Meanwhile, the Cap’n continues on. “Agent Three, of course, my protégé! Who exceeded all expectation, who dazzled Inkopolis in secrecy two years ago. He is no doubt our hardest-working Agent- he spends more time in Octo Valley than I do, ohoh! Always on patrol or some other.”

Eight thinks that he’s probably spent more time in Octo Valley than any Inkling alive, but he keeps the thought to himself. He wants to hear more about Agent Three. Their fight, yes, but more. 

“Well, I could go on all day about the New Squidbeak Splatoon! Why, it’s practically my lifeblood! Both my lovely grandsquids are Agents One and Two- though you might know them better as the Squid Sisters..”

Fresh, Eight thinks to himself. 

“.. Agent Four, and of course Agent Three! Small, but determined to stop the Octarian menace.” but the cheer has left the Cap’n voice. 

Agent Eight feels a twinge. Inkling menace, more like. But he sees how the Cap’n is looking down now, and again he seems very far away. He doesn’t look very convicted for a grizzled war veteran. 

“Mr. Cuttlefish?” Eight asks. 

“Hm?” Cuttlefish mumbles in response. He doesn’t look at Eight. 

“..Do you really believe all Octarians are evil? Am I a menace?”

Now Cuttlefish turns to him, incredulous. “No fan of the Inkantation is a foe of mine. I don’t see species,” he echoes that same silly mantra and Eight resists the urge to roll his eyes. 

“Do you think all Octarians are evil,” he presses instead. “Do you think Octavio is evil?”

Cuttlefish’s beard scrunches up, and his brows almost meet with how angrily he furrows them. “Octavio?! I’ve half a mind to give him a real whooping for what he did to Callie! Good for nothing, slimy ball of takoyaki!” He raps his cane on the floor and Eight fears he’s struck too close to home. The other passengers give him a concerned glance and Eight feels his face warm again. 

Cuttlefish only sighs after the outburst. “He brainwashed his own kin. He kidnapped my granddaughter! Is that not evil?” but again the Cap’n doesn’t seem convinced by his own words. He has every right, more so than most Inklings to hate Octavio. 

So why does he look so sad about it?

The question must show on Eight’s face, because Cuttlefish looks away again.   
“...We were friends before the war. Inklings and Octolings. Myself and Octavio. Two eels in a pod.”   
The Cap’n is silent for a while before he continues.   
“... I hate Octavio, but cod. Perhaps I hate Inklings more for what we did to him, to Octarians. To you, Agent Eight.”

Eight doesn’t want to hear about this anymore. He doesn’t want to look at Cuttlefish and see him a hundred years away, mourning over friends he has lost, mistakes he has made. 

“Tell me more about Agent Three, Mr. Cuttlefish.”

Cuttlefish looks surprised by the abrupt change in subject, but complies. “Well.. I would say he’s got a year or two on you. And perhaps an inch or two as well, ohoho! Very serious. Very dedicated Agent. But beneath that shell he’s... hm.. well. I haven’t quite gotten that far yet. Quite the clam, he is. He’s quite fond of the Hero Shot I lent him... and my! Quite the marksman he is! You two had quite the battle..”

Eight listens to Cuttlefish go on and on about Three’s battle prowess. He was hoping to hear a little more about their fight, or maybe what Agent Three looks like, but he supposes that’ll have to be something he finds out on his own, like how the sun will feel on his skin, or how Toni Kensa clothes will fit him. 

For now, this is what he has.


End file.
